Tag: Psalm 66

September 10th 2023: David Hails

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

Psalm 66

There are many ways to think of dividing up time, such as the way time is divided up into calendars and also the academic year. We are now in September, a new academic year. It is often a time to reflect and think about our lives. Psalm 66 gives us good cause to think about a new year. We’re not told who wrote this song; it could be David. There are certainly parts of this psalm which speak in the way David speaks. It is a song. There are lessons for us as well as a challenge. There are three parts to this psalm:

  1. Shout for joy.
  2. Come and see.
  3. Come and hear.

1.Shout for joy because we have a praiseworthy God (verses 1-4).

There is a challenge right at the start of this psalm, ‘Shout for joy to God.’ As we come together Sunday by Sunday, is your desire to praise God? As you get up each morning is your desire to praise God, to give Him glorious praise? As a British, evangelical church, how do these words make us feel? A little uncomfortable? It is OK to shout on the school playground or the Millennium Stadium, but in church, before God, is shouting for joy what we are supposed to do? The psalmist says so. Has our worship become a bit too formal, distant? Is this something we could be learning? I am not looking for chaos, but do we need to be a bit looser? Have we lost some of the joy of worship? Old Testament worship would have been loud and joyous. Let us be desiring and seeking to know His joy, the feeling of His presence in our worship.

We have many reasons to praise God. There are also reasons that bring fear. In this psalm not everyone will praise God, they are seen as enemies of God (v3). The mighty deeds of God are not good news for everyone. The power of God is such, His enemies cannot triumph. The victory is already won, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11).

As we look forward, all will worship God and have to acknowledge the mercy and greatness of God. The call of the psalmist is to do this before it is too late. Come to Him, know Him, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ now. Come and worship the only one through which you can be saved.

2.Come and see because we have a mighty God (verses 5-13).

We have a call to come and see what God has done. He is a mighty God. Within section there are three different parts:

Verses 5-7: a call to those outside of Israel, to come and see what God has done. He is calling on those outside Israel to come, to see, to believe, to worship. The primary reason is to come and see what God has done in bringing His people out of Egypt. It points back to history, to the birth of the nation of Israel. It was many years ago, but they are still here. God brought a people together, out of His mercy. It is from the people of Israel that His greatest gift came, the Saviour of the world. He lived in Israel, He died in Israel. He died for the sins of the whole world. He came from the people of Israel for all the peoples of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ came so that sinful people would be forgiven. He lived the perfect life and died a sacrificial death. He did awesome deeds. How do we react? As a foreigner, a Gentile, outside of Israel, how do we respond? There is only one way – in praise, in adoration and glory.

Verses 8-12. The emphasis changes slightly to ‘our’ God (verses 8-9). The psalm goes from a cry of foreigners to come and see to a national cry, to corporate worship. So, today, we are God’s people. We come together today and worship Him together, to proclaim Him together. Praise God that the God of the past and is the same God we worship today.

Verses 13-15. The call now becomes a personal call. Five times the word ‘I’ is used. It is a reminder that our worship is both corporate and personal. Our faith has to be personal. It has to be me: ‘I come,’ ‘I will worship, ‘I will trust,’ ‘I believe.’ Just being part of a church isn’t enough; our faith in God has to be personal. We must believe personally and trust in the Lord personally. Have you believed and trusted in the Lord?

3. Come and hear because He is a personal God (verses 14-20). God is sovereign, He is mighty, but He is also personal. We cannot be a Christian on our own or by relying on the faith of others. We come to worship one who is here, one who is with us. He dwells within you.

There are more challenges for us (verses 17-18). We are pointed back to a call to worship. But who can praise God? As those who claim to be Christians, do you cherish Him or do you hold tightly to sin, to wrongdoing? Does your wrongdoing bring shame to you or bring the light to your heart? We should not expect God to listen to us if we hold tight to sin.

What right do we have to call on God? We need to truly bend the need to worship Him. If we hold tight to our sins, we won’t be able to speak to God, He won’t listen. If we put to death sin, if we repent and turn back to God, to Jesus the one who died so we could be made right with God, we can call on Him.

If we confess our sin, then we can know comfort, joy, and peace. The Psalm finishes,

“But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!”

Coming to Jesus in repentance, to seek forgiveness, laying down your sins, He hears you and loves you with a steadfast love, a love that never changes, a love that is everlasting.

He gave, out of love, out of mercy, out of grace, so that we can be forgiven and know His everlasting love. God is almighty but also personal. He knows each one of us.

September 3rd 2023: Phil Swann

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

Psalm 44

This is a Psalm written by the sons of Korah. They were an interesting group; their ministry was to provide music. The history goes back to a very dark. Korah led a rebellion against Moses, so God struck him down. He spared some of his descendants. In the family history, there are some very dark things indeed. But now? Whole lives are given to encouraging others. This song is a prayer for help but also looks forward to the future as well. The Psalm has a very simple but very helpful framework: it considers things from the past, then reflects on the present, before thoughts are turned to the future.

Verses 1- 8: The Past

The past is always with us. We often think of the past. We need to be careful how we handle the past; it is too easily used to discourage us and depress us in the present. For example, people may say church was always better in the past. We sometimes have rose-tinted views about the past. If we are not careful, as Christians, we may speak well of the Church of the past and give criticism of the present. But here, in Psalm 44, the past is used to encourage those who are struggling in the present. Things are not going well in the present. Israel has become a byword. In the midst of these dark days, led by the sons of Korah, they look to have times of comfort. As Christians, the past can offer hope. Here in Psalm 44 we are reminded we can orientate our thinking to help us.

The Psalmists’ starting point is to recall what God has done in the past, to remember the days of old. (Deuteronomy 32:7). History is important in every culture. No where is this more important than in the Christian life. We read in verse 1,

“We have heard it with our ears, O God;
    our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
    in days long ago.”

This is an acknowledgement that they have been obedient in the past. They look to the Lord because of what he’s done in the past. This is very important for us when we go through a dark patch. We can very easily become focused on ourselves and what is going on in our situation. We can be preoccupied and have self-pity. We may focus on people who have hurt us and brought us great pain. Psalm 44 Looks past these things and reminds us of how God has been in the past. This is why the past is good to reflect on and remember what God has done in the past. There is great power in times of reflection.

What had God done in the past?

On verse 2 we read,

“With your hand you drove out the nations
    and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
    and made our ancestors flourish.”

This verse begins with the awareness of all the blessings received in the past had come from God’s goodness. Abraham was called to leave everything behind and become a nomad. He was given the greatest promise of all, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” God led the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. They were sustained by the Lord’s faithfulness. The reflection of coming into the land is very much in the mind of the writers (verse 3). The reminder is the Lord had done great things. He subdued the enemies (verses 6-7). Despite the great difficulties, remembering brings them to a place of great confidence in the present (verse 8). This should always be our starting point. When trouble comes, we need to remember God’s faithfulness (Psalm 43). If you are discouraged today, remember the days in the past when the Lord sustained you, kept you and blessed you.

Verses 9-22: A reflection on the present.

“But now,” (9a). Things are different. Here comes the realism. To find help in difficult days, we must remember what God has done in the past and face honestly what is the present. We all go through difficulties. Here, we see God is still at work, but at work in judgement,

“But now you have rejected and humbled us;
    you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
    and our adversaries have plundered us.”

God has humbled them and rejected them. The present predicament is the Lord’s work and appears to be judgement – God actively working against His people. This is a hard reality. Verse 24 reflects that,

“Why do you hide your face
    and forget our misery and oppression?”

We may find ourselves thinking, ‘How can this happen? People want a positive, affirming God, who only ever blesses. God desires His people to be holy. Does this mean that if I’m going through a hard time, that God is judging me for my sin? This is not necessarily always the case. Sometimes, God may take us through tough times to strengthen our faith and confidence in Him. There are times when God may withdraw some of His presence, but his intention is to strengthen and develop your confidence in him. We see this in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul three times asked God to remove a thorn in his flesh. He was told, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). James wrote that of trying and testing of our faith.

This was not a time in Israel’s history when they had rejected the law.

“All this came upon us,
    though we had not forgotten you;
    we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned back;
    our feet had not strayed from your path.”

This seems to be a time of testing to strengthen faith.

Verses 23-26: The Future

Because Israel knows how God has been in the past, they can look past traumas with confidence. As God has been in the past, He will be in the future. He will remain faithful. When we are really discouraged, we know the future can be frightening or seem impossible, but when we have confidence, we can rely on God’s faithfulness. We change, the world changes because of sin, but God never changes. In all the confusion and chaos they can say with boldness,

“Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.”
(Psalm 44:23).

There is a particular emphasis, more than God should wake up,

“Rise up and help us;
    rescue us because of your unfailing love.”

(Psalm 44:26)

When God seems far away. This takes us to the in failing love of God. In the New Testament, Psalm 44 is picked up by the Apostle Paul,

“Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
 (Psalm 44:22)

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
(Romans 8:35-36)

We see the darkest moments of all in the calamity that has come on Israel. Things are as dark and bleak as they could possibly be. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Paul writes, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39). Paul’s great conclusion, in the midst of problems and testing times, is that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

You can always be certain, whether you’ve been overcome by some terrible illness, things haven’t gone your way with family, work, or you have inward struggles of sin, you can always be certain of the unfailing love of God.

“Rise up and help us;
    rescue us because of your unfailing love.”
Psalm 44:26

We fail ourselves, despite our good intentions. We may fail one another. But the love of God towards you as a Christian, never fails.

  1. O love of God, how strong and true,
    eternal and yet ever new,
    uncomprehended and unbought,
    beyond all knowledge and all thought!
    O love of God, how deep and great,
    far deeper than man’s deepest hate;
    self-fed, self-kindled like the light,
    changeless, eternal, infinite.
  2. O heav’nly love, how precious still,
    in days of weariness and ill,
    in nights of pain and helplessness,
    to heal, to comfort, and to bless!
    O wide-embracing, wondrous love!
    We read you in the sky above,
    we read you in the earth below,
    in seas that swell and streams that flow.
  3. O love of God, our shield and stay
    through all the perils of our way!
    Eternal love, in you we rest,
    forever safe, forever blest.
    We will exalt you, God and King,
    and we will ever praise your name;
    we will extol you ev’ry day,
    and evermore your praise proclaim.

We see the unfailing love of God most clearly in Jesus Christ. It is because of His in failing love, there is redemption for us. It may redeem us from the darkest pits in life, the most lonely and self-critical times. Never forget the love of God.

“Rise up and help us;
    rescue us because of your unfailing love.”
Psalm 44:26

Whatever state of soul or mind you are in today, have faith in the unfailing love of God as made manifest in Jesus Christ.